Are you trying to make your website more inclusive for users with visual impairments? Want practical, easy-to-implement tips to improve accessibility and usability for everyone?

You’ll find some web design basics in this infographic.

Here’s a summary of what’s covered:

• Provide Enough Colour Contrast
• Limit Colour and Don’t Rely On It
• Avoid Text Over Background Images
• Enable Manual Font Size Adjustment
• Prioritise Important Information
• Make Your Website Keyboard-Only Accessible
• Add Relevant Anchor Text and Alt Text
• Use Empty Alt Text for Decorative Images
• Organise Content with Headings
• Reduce Ads

Check out the post below for more.

 

Creating an accessible website isn’t just a legal or ethical responsibility—it’s a smart business move. With over 285 million people worldwide living with visual impairments, designing your site with accessibility in mind ensures more people can interact with your content.

It can also improve your SEO performance, enhance the user experience for all visitors, and boost your brand’s reputation. In this post, we’ll share 10 practical tips to make your website easier to use for visually impaired users.

Provide Enough Colour Contrast

Many visually impaired users struggle to read text that blends into the background. Sufficient colour contrast between foreground elements (like text) and background areas is essential for legibility. This is particularly important for users with low vision, colour blindness, or other contrast sensitivity issues. It also enhances overall readability for everyone.

• Use contrast checking tools like WebAIM’s Contrast Checker to test your text and background colour combinations.
• Aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for standard text and 3:1 for large text, as per WCAG guidelines.
• Avoid using colours that are too similar in brightness or hue, especially for important calls to action.
• Review every colour pairing on your site, including form fields, button text, and hover effects.

Limit Colour and Don’t Rely On It

Relying solely on colour to convey meaning excludes users who are colour blind or have difficulty distinguishing hues. Accessibility means using multiple indicators—such as icons, text labels, or patterns—to communicate important information. A colour-coded system alone can easily cause confusion or missed information. Diversity in design cues improves clarity for everyone.

• Accompany colour indicators with text descriptions or labels to reinforce meaning.
• Use different shapes, icons, or patterns alongside colour to differentiate categories or statuses.
• Avoid excessive use of colour; stick to a simple, accessible palette that ensures clarity.
• Test your site in grayscale to identify areas that rely too heavily on colour alone.

Avoid Text Over Background Images

Text placed directly on background images is often difficult to read, especially when image elements interfere with letterforms. Visual impairments can make it almost impossible to distinguish text from a busy or colourful image. To maintain accessibility and clarity, avoid this practice or take precautions. Clarity should always take precedence over aesthetics.

• Use solid colour backgrounds or semi-transparent overlays behind text when using images.
• Choose high-contrast combinations when placing text over imagery, especially in hero banners.
• Avoid using important text on images altogether unless you’re confident it’s clearly readable.
• Test readability on both desktop and mobile devices, where image cropping can vary.

Enable Manual Font Size Adjustment

Users with vision loss often need to increase font sizes to read comfortably. Your website should allow them to adjust text without breaking the layout or content flow. Some platforms and themes lock down font scaling, which creates an unnecessary barrier. Giving users control over text size significantly improves accessibility.

• Avoid fixed font sizes in your CSS; use relative units like em or rem instead of pixels.
• Make sure your site supports browser zooming without hiding or overlapping content.
• Include a font size toggle option if possible, allowing users to choose a comfortable reading size.
• Check that enlarged text doesn’t disrupt navigation menus, forms, or call-to-action buttons.

Prioritise Important Information

Visually impaired users using screen readers navigate content in a linear, top-to-bottom flow. Placing the most critical information at the top of each page makes it easier for users to access what matters. This approach benefits everyone, especially users scanning quickly for specific details. A clear hierarchy creates an inclusive and efficient user experience.

• Write clear, concise headings that reflect the content that follows.
• Summarise key points or value propositions in the first few lines of each section.
• Use bullet points or numbered lists to highlight important features or instructions.
• Add meta descriptions and page titles that reflect core messages accurately and efficiently.

Make Your Website Keyboard-Only Accessible

Some users cannot use a mouse or touchpad and rely entirely on keyboard navigation. Websites must support tabbing through interactive elements like menus, buttons, and forms. If elements can’t be accessed or activated by keyboard, your site becomes partially or wholly inaccessible. Full keyboard functionality is a cornerstone of accessible design.

• Ensure users can tab through all interactive elements in a logical order.
• Highlight focused elements with a visible border or change of style for clarity.
• Avoid requiring mouse actions like drag-and-drop or hover-only interactions.
• Test your website using only the keyboard (Tab, Shift + Tab, Enter, Spacebar) to find issues.

Add Relevant Anchor Text and Alt Text

Anchor text (the visible text in a hyperlink) and alt text (for images) provide crucial context to screen reader users. Descriptive, concise anchor and alt text enables users to understand where a link goes or what an image represents. Vague phrases like “click here” or missing alt descriptions create unnecessary confusion. Clarity supports inclusivity.

• Write anchor text that describes the link’s destination (e.g. “Download our pricing guide” instead of “click here”).
• Use alt text to describe the content and purpose of an image, not just its appearance.
• Avoid keyword stuffing in alt attributes; focus on usefulness for the reader.
• Don’t duplicate anchor or alt text—each should be unique and relevant to its context.

Use Empty Alt Text for Decorative Images

Not all images need to be described. Decorative graphics—such as dividers, icons, or background embellishments—can clutter screen reader output if alt text is added unnecessarily. By marking these as empty alt (alt=””), screen readers will skip over them. This keeps navigation clean and focused on meaningful content.

• Add empty alt text (alt=””) to purely decorative images.
• Don’t omit the alt attribute entirely—doing so may cause screen readers to announce the file name.
• Use CSS for decorative elements when possible, avoiding extra HTML where not needed.
• Review every image to determine whether it conveys content or is purely decorative.

Organise Content with Headings

Well-structured headings help screen reader users understand the layout and flow of a page. They allow users to skip through sections quickly using keyboard shortcuts. Without a clear heading hierarchy, navigating long pages becomes time-consuming and disorienting. Logical formatting ensures a smoother, more inclusive experience.

• Use H1 for the main page title, then follow a logical order with H2s, H3s, etc.
• Don’t skip heading levels (e.g. jumping from H2 to H4) as it disrupts structure.
• Keep headings descriptive and concise to help users anticipate the content.
• Avoid using bold or enlarged text in place of semantic headings—screen readers won’t recognise them.

Reduce Ads

On-page advertisements can be especially disruptive to screen reader users, particularly if not clearly marked. Visually impaired users may struggle to distinguish ads from genuine content, leading to frustration or misclicks. Reducing ad volume and properly labelling them creates a better experience for all users.

• Limit the number of ads shown per page, especially in mobile view.
• Clearly label ads using alt text that includes the word “Ad” or “Advertisement.”
• Avoid autoplaying video or audio ads, which can interfere with screen readers.
• Position ads away from the main flow of content to reduce distractions.

Conclusion

Improving your website’s accessibility for visually impaired users isn’t about grand gestures—it’s about thoughtful, consistent decisions throughout your design. From colour contrast and text clarity to keyboard navigation and image descriptions, each change makes your site more inclusive, user-friendly, and professional.

These 10 practical tips offer a solid foundation to build a site that works for everyone—regardless of their visual abilities. Prioritise accessibility, and you’ll create not just a better website, but a better user experience.